Amazon is reportedly taking on Expedia with its own travel service

Soon, travelers may be able to buy their luggage and their hotel reservations with a single visit to Amazon. The Seattle-based company is planning to launch a new travel service that will compete with Expedia, Priceline, Orbitz and others, according to a report by Skift. Citing interviews with hoteliers who had been asked to join the new service, the report said that Amazon plans to launch the travel marketplace around New Year’s Day. At first, it will only feature a curated list of hotels “within a few hours’ drive” of San Francisco, Seattle, New York and Los Angeles. People looking to book other travel services like airline tickets would still have to turn elsewhere, at least for the time being. The travel service could be a huge boon for independent hotels that don’t have the massive marketing budgets of large chains like Marriott or Hyatt. By providing one curated space for those smaller hotels, Amazon could drive its large customer base to spaces that wouldn’t ordinarily get large amounts of interest. Amazon will take a 15 percent commission on all pre-paid bookings, and hotels will offer their rooms at standard rates (though they are free to discount them). Pages on Amazon Travel will include editorial content about attractions near the hotels, as well. The curatorial aspects are similar to what Expedia is doing with its new tablet app, which features collections of destinations based around certain categories.